My friends and I got back to our Pandemic Legacy game and as of October are down to zero funding and have opened literally every Top Secret door and package except the one you open if you lose four consecutive games. Whole sheets of them this last game. It was very satisfying,

Yeah, I understand. It’s just, any game with a wide variety of possibilities as to the force you could have is going to give you that. It’s part of the conceit of X-wing and miniatures games that there is definitely the possibility that you’ll walk into the game with a low chance to win.

Well. I think the idea or the “get you in the door” selling point of X-wing is that it is a miniatures based game of dog fighting Star Wars goodness. X amount of time and Y amount money later it reveals itself to be a deck building game where the “game” is played off table via meta and your wallet as wistful memories of arc dodging and range 1 tailing fade into the background.

I saw that specific match when the video released (I, shocking no one I’m sure, subscribe to that channel). There are things at both the strategic and tactical level that I’d consider failures on the Rebel player.

The 4 Thug list is the San Antonio Spurs of X-wing. Durable, reliable, not flashy, and will beat you by capitalizing on your mistakes. It was big in the meta, went away some under new hotness, but is still a solid workhorse.

But you need to have a plan to defeat it. If you improvise or freelance, you will lose. The Rebel player had a path to victory, but it was a path that was lost due to tactical failure at the initial engagement. The key to beating the Thug Life list (as it has been dubbed) with this list relies on a strong alpha strike knocking out one Y-wing quickly, while limiting shots back. The first approach works, getting a range 3 shot with only a single ship in range. However the next stage is ramming in to get at range 1 with both ships. Done right you can kill 1 Y-wing in the second round of shooting (first if you get a lucky crib through), and have a second severely damaged.

The Rey/Finn combo is the perfect tool for this, adding a die to both attack and defense is an amazing way to mitigate, but you need to keep them in arc. The failure to do that is what doomed the Rebel player.

The other failure was before it hit the table. Being a fan of both Rey and Miranda (and quite successful with both), I dislike the Miranda build. He never leverages the long range scanners to use the homing missile, which also deprives him of the Advanced Slam mod. Some point shifting and I could make a (to my mind) generally superior build. Still, even with that list as is, it was winnable. But failing to get in range 1, and failing to keep them in arc with Rey, doomed him.

Now credit the Scum player, they flew their list masterfully in the initial engagement. The Rebel player was outplayed. But play that match 10 times, and that is probably a 6-4 split with equal skill. Tweak the Rebel list only a little? 5-5, or even Rebel advantage.

Well. I think the idea or the “get you in the door” selling point of X-wing is that it is a miniatures based game of dog fighting Star Wars goodness. X amount of time and Y amount money later it reveals itself to be a deck building game where the “game” is played off table via meta and your wallet as wistful memories of arc dodging and range 1 tailing fade into the background.

I mean, what is the gameplay essence of “dog fighting Star Wars goodness” though? Is it fighting the same battles between TIE fighters and X wings that you can get in the starter box? Most matchups are going to have elements of picking the right maneuver and arc dodging(including the one in the video) but some of the appeal of the game is being able to have the Millenium Falcon in there, or TIE Defenders, or seeing an ace that is absolutely slippery. The runner up at the World Championship ran a list that had almost no room for error, but i’m sure it was quite a pleasant experience outmaneuvering the normally very maneuverable imperial ace lists. Miranda Doni is very very hard to catch when she’s at a PS advantage, she just struggles with opposing TLTs en masse.

CraigM:

I saw that specific match when the video released (I, shocking no one I’m sure, subscribe to that channel). There are things at both the strategic and tactical level that I’d consider failures on the Rebel player.

The 4 Thug list is the San Antonio Spurs of X-wing. Durable, reliable, not flashy, and will beat you by capitalizing on your mistakes. It was big in the meta, went away some under new hotness, but is still a solid workhorse.

But you need to have a plan to defeat it. If you improvise or freelance, you will lose. The Rebel player had a path to victory, but it was a path that was lost due to tactical failure at the initial engagement. The key to beating the Thug Life list (as it has been dubbed) with this list relies on a strong alpha strike knocking out one Y-wing quickly, while limiting shots back. The first approach works, getting a range 3 shot with only a single ship in range. However the next stage is ramming in to get at range 1 with both ships. Done right you can kill 1 Y-wing in the second round of shooting (first if you get a lucky crib through), and have a second severely damaged.

The Rey/Finn combo is the perfect tool for this, adding a die to both attack and defense is an amazing way to mitigate, but you need to keep them in arc. The failure to do that is what doomed the Rebel player.

The other failure was before it hit the table. Being a fan of both Rey and Miranda (and quite successful with both), I dislike the Miranda build. He never leverages the long range scanners to use the homing missile, which also deprives him of the Advanced Slam mod. Some point shifting and I could make a (to my mind) generally superior build. Still, even with that list as is, it was winnable. But failing to get in range 1, and failing to keep them in arc with Rey, doomed him.

Now credit the Scum player, they flew their list masterfully in the initial engagement. The Rebel player was outplayed. But play that match 10 times, and that is probably a 6-4 split with equal skill. Tweak the Rebel list only a little? 5-5, or even Rebel advantage.

I’m… not as optimistic about that matchup as you. Rey does have more offensive options than Fat Han, but having to get the Y-wings in your arc to do it limits your maneuvering and you really do need the dice to go your way significantly to win. Most of the Thug Life players that still play it are very good and it’s not as simple as making the perfect ranging moves. Yes, there is a path to victory there, but I would say it’s more of a 70/30 there than what you say.

Also, the reason LRS is there over Advanced Slam is that Advanced Slam costs points and LRS does not. I have had success with Miranda and a Falcon myself(Fat Han+Miranda) but I generally think the best way to use her is to make the points for Threepio if you aren’t planning on using bombs.

Also, the reason LRS is there over Advanced Slam is that Advanced Slam costs points and LRS does not. I have had success with Miranda and a Falcon myself(Fat Han+Miranda) but I generally think the best way to use her is to make the points for Threepio if you aren’t planning on using bombs.

I have other builds I like, but the reality is there are many successful ones. However this matchup is not good for that Miranda, for sure. The Y’s have 1 agility, so spiking damage into them is key, which is why the failure to get off the missile is so damning. If you take LRS the biggest benefit is on that alpha strike, being able to have perfect modification on the homing missile.

And sure it is tough to control range like that, but it is a doable thing. I’d have probably done an intentional bump in round 2, Rey makes modification slightly less important. If you can bump the rear Y, you could negate shots on all but 1 TLT due to the range 1 hole. Hard? Yes. And certainly the impetus is on Rebel player to not screw up. Having been flying Rey a lot lately I can assure you that while keeping in arc may be harder at times, the new title makes that a very doable thing. Pushing 5 damage with Rey at range 1 is not unusual, and a very tough thing for a Y to take.

The matchup does force the Rebel player to adopt certain tactics. Above all else keeping both ships with shots, for one. But that is because the Thugs have a set tactic they follow. A very effective, if boring, tactic for sure.

I think Fantasy Flight were fairly transparent about Armada’s fleet points total, they said that once the large ships started coming out (wave 2) that 400 points would be the norm.

They explicitly say that The Corellian Conflict is intended for six players. I guess they’re each suppose to have fleets! Unfortunately I don’t know five other people who are into this game, and FFG have not put the rules up on their site for me to judge if I want to pick this up.

Armada actual seems relatively inexpensive as a miniatures game, if you just build one specific fleet and shop around it’s fine. The only issue for me, and this seemed true of X-Wing too, is that they insert new upgrade cards and ship cards into expensive products that I otherwise have not interest in. But if your playing casually, you could just print those cards out yourself…

PS: I don’t have any of these, both games are too much money for something I won’t be able to play that often, but the X-Wing solo expansion puts that game into the maybe-consider-at-some-point (if it wasn’t for the price requirements, you need quite a few ships to fly that campaign…)

Oh man. Gloomhaven is arriving on US shores now and is anticipated to be out to US backers by end of month. So psyched. Of course, I have pledged to myself I won’t be opening packages until I move so I don’t have to repack, so I won’t be able to actually play it until afterwards…but still! Psyched.

What would you think about a boardgame where you try to kill Hitler? You gather tools, plots, try to keep your suspicion level low etc… you start the game in 1936 and follow the path of history. You know he will be in Nuremberg at some point in time, will you and your fellow conspiracists be prepared, will you be there at the right time and place? Poisoned food or a bomb…? Raids by the SS will try to arrest you. etc… History is presented as event cards, which are bases on actual historic events like Chamberlain in Munich, etc…
This game is co-op and called Black Orchestra (2016) It is nothing like a whack-a-mole kind of coop (like Pandemic)… it is different. I just ordered after watching this video

I hope the shipment will get through to Germany because of swastikas on some cards (they are kind of illegal here in games)…

Seems like the ideal kind of game for a traitor mechanic – will one of your co-conspirators rat you out? – but as near as I can tell, that’s not in there. So, a solitaire game. I do like the idea of using decks of cards to model history. That’s what I liked about Ottoman Sunset. This looks like a bit of that in an Eldritch Horror style framework.